The "Gossip Girl" actress' workouts weren't just about stunt training, she was also understandably motivated by a daunting 2010 Vogue fashion shoot involving a skimpy white bikini.

Courtesy of Vogue

November 02, 2011

by

Elizabeth Snead

When Gossip Girl star Blake Lively snagged the role of fighter pilot Carol Ferris in Green Lantern, (starring Ryan Reynolds) she realized she was going to need to get physically stronger to do some stunts. So she turned to L.A. trainer-to-the-starBobby Strom, already on the set training his longtime client Reynolds, then married to Scarlett Johansson, who was also trained by Strom.

"The producers told Blake she should probably work out to get stronger, to strengthen her core and help prevent injuries and soreness," Strom tells Fash Track exclusively. "She'd seen me working with Ryan and she'd seen what I had done for his wife Scarlett Johansson for her role in the action movie, Iron Man 2," added Strom, who has also trained buff actresses Jessica Biel, Jennifer Lopez, Leslie Mann, Elle McPherson, and Adrianne Palicki.

Initially, Lively was working out solely to get stronger for stunts. But then she got motivated. Really, really motivated. Why? "When she found out she was going to model in a Vogue fashion spread that would involve swimsuits, a bikini and surfing, she decided she needed to be toned and look more athletic," Strom explains. Yup. Nothing like a little Vogue swimsuit spread to motivate a fitness regimen.

Strom says Lively's workout was different from Johansson's "Scarlett did a lot of boxing," says Strom. "Blake and I focused on circuit training four days a week, 90 minutes each time. All the planks, push-ups, and walking lunges paid off too." Strom also set out to reduce Blake’s body fat by three or four per cent. ‘What you want is lower body fat to get more lean muscle,’ he explains. Yeah, especially in a bikini, right ladies?

The workouts started with a light jog or the treadmill to get the blood flowing before moving onto circuits. "This meant that she was continuously burning fat," Strom added. "We did around 10 different moves three or four times, repeating the same exercises but never in the same order."

Blake’s assistant and Strom shopped at a New Orleans Wholefoods for her uber-healthy diet. Blake also bought a juicer and blended beetroot, carrots, kale and celery for an energy boost. "She also ate healthy foods such as vegetables, tabbouleh salads and quinoa," added Strom.

During her training, Lively also got a nightly massage from Strom's trainer/masseuse wifeAlicia Strom. Oh, wait. Surely you weren't thinking that Lively started training with Strom to hang out with Reynolds. Totally not true. None of that went on on the set. But the former co-stars have been seen together recently, llike on her three weekends in a row visit to Boston where Reynolds is filming R.I.P.D.

As THR first reported, the life of Grace Kelly, the Hitchcock ingenue who went from Hollywood royalty to genuine royalty, is getting the big screen treatment courtesy of producer Pierre-Ange Le Pogam. Which Hollywood actress would be best to star in the highly coveted role?